10 Ways to Grow your Confidence as an Introvert

Today I’ll be talking about 10 ways to grow your confidence as an introvert.

Like a lot of people, I consider myself an introvert. In my head, that used to come across as the opposite of confidence. I only saw some of the most extroverted people at confident people.

Being extroverted and confident are not mutually exclusive.

As an introvert, you can be just as confident as anyone else. Now, you might not be there yet. It takes time and practice to become more confident. It’s all about your mindset. You can hang out by yourself and still exude confidence.

Keep reading to learn 10 ways to grow your confidence as an introvert.

What we will cover:

Use Your Strengths

One of the best things you can do is focus on your strengths. It’s hard to shift to a more positive mindset. We’re our own worst critics. Instead of focusing on the things are aren’t good at, focus on the things you are good at.

You might be thinking, “But I’m not good at anything.” That thought stems from our lack of confidence. No matter how small it is, there’s something out there that you’re good at.

For me, my conversational skills suck. But one thing I know that I’m good at is being a good listener. Take the time to think about some of the things you’re good at and your confidence will grow.

Prepare Yourself

One of the best ways you can grow your confidence as an introvert is to prepare yourself. Some people might be introverts and are good at holding conversations. Some introverts like me have a really hard time socially.

You can set yourself up for success by preparing yourself. Look up what’s recent in the news. Going to watch a game? Look up some of the players. It doesn’t matter what it is, just have something to go to when you run out of conversation.

But you know what’s even better? Owning the silence. A lot of people find silence awkward. It doesn’t have to be awkward. You can use some of these other tips to be confident in the silence.

Use Body Language

One of the biggest ways we can show our confidence is through our body language. If I’m uncomfortable, I’ll try to make myself as small as possible. I cross my arms, hunch over, and pretend to look through my phone.

If you want to glow up and become more confident, you have to use confident body language. Sit up straight, keep your head up, and smile if you want to. Even just having better posture will make your feel more confident.

Start Small

You won’t all of the sudden be more confident over night. There will still be days where you feel more confident than others. That’s perfectly okay. If you want to be more confident, start making small changes.

You don’t have to do a complete overhaul to be more confident. It could be doing things alone more. It could be changing your posture. Choose something small to start with so you don’t get too overwhelmed.

Be Easy on Yourself

Like I said earlier, you are your own worst critic. It’s like that for almost everyone. People don’t ruminate about the little mistakes you make. If you said something a little awkward (we’ve all been there) you might think about it for weeks or months. Trust me when I say the other person usually forgets about it by the next day.

You’re going to make mistakes. It happens. You can still be confident even while you make mistakes. The key is to own it. Don’t be so hard on yourself!

Ask for Help

If you find yourself struggling, don’t be afraid to ask for help. When your social battery is running out, just be honest. If you want help socially, don’t be afraid to ask a mental health professional or someone close to you to help you practice.

Even if you don’t want to practice social skills, you could still benefit from seeing a counselor just for general mental health.

Read a book about Confidence

For some, confidence comes naturally. For others, it can be learned just like anything else. One of the best ways to learn how to grow your confidence as an introvert is to read about it. Here are some of my favorite personal development books:

Get Out of your Comfort Zone

It’s so hard to get out of your comfort zone as an introvert. I always see people saying that you need to get out of your comfort zone or you’re not living life. What if that makes me miserable? It’s especially hard with social anxiety.

I remember looking up jobs where I’d have limited contact with people. Any way I could stay at home and avoid seeing anyone. But I realized that was just me running away instead of facing it head on. If I found a job where I didn’t socialize at all, I’d just fall down deeper into the hole.

It’s okay to stick to what’s comfortable, but sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to experience personal growth.

Practice

Being an introvert itself doesn’t need practice, but many introverts struggle socially. You can improve your confidence as an introvert by practicing. Practice making small talk. Practice making eye contact. Rehearse some things you can say if you run out of things to talk about or to start a conversation with someone.

Learn to Accept Yourself

If you take anything away from this, let it be this: Learn to accept yourself. Be proud of being an introvert! Just because you may want to improve your social skills, doesn’t mean that you’re trying to become an extrovert.

Accept the fact that you’re an introvert, and everything about that is okay!